Helland: Busy Week At The State House

It has been an eventful week at the Iowa State House.

On Tuesday, the House passed the biggest overhaul of Iowa’s property tax system in over 30 years.  The House Republicans worked closely with the Governor to put together a bill that incorporated some ideas from Senate Democrats and the result is the only piece of legislation in the property tax discussion that will result in lower taxes for all classes of property tax payers.  Unfortunately, the bill passed on a strict party line vote.

The bottom line is that under this bill, the growth of government will be reduced, homeowners will pay less than they do under the Senate plan and current law and commercial property taxes will be lowered.  Some opponents of the plan have tried to push the spin that this will harm homeowners.  The truth, proved by non-partisan numbers, is that this is the only bill that will result in a lower bill for homeowners.

Wednesday night we hosted a state dinner for Vice President Xi Jinping. Xi spoke extensively about his fondness for Iowa and his trip to Iowa in the 80s as a young rising leader; where he met Governor Branstad in his first term.    While we do not agree with China on many aspects of government or freedom, one thing is certain:  our relationship as a trading partner benefits Iowa.  I learned at the event that one in every four rows of corn in Iowa heads to China. In China, Iowa soybeans are considered a sign of quality—much the same as we speak of German engineering or French wine.

At my table, a businessman from China visited with several state legislators and told us he was on his way to Brazil next to seek out trading partners for soybeans.  This drove home the reality that we are in a global economy and that looking beyond our borders to secure trading partners benefits the entire Iowa economy; from the farmer, to the seed producer, to the implement producer and all the services they use along the way.

Finally, I want to thank the Johnston 9^th-graders I met with last week.  Every year, I work with Kate Leo to meet with students and get lobbied on an issue.  I spent Friday at Johnston Middle School meeting with students in pairs to discuss their issue.  The students chose tough topics; including, but not limited to, Black History month, gun rights, funding for workforce development, life issues and teen texting while driving.  Getting students and young people involved in their government is a passion of mine and as a resident of this community, I could not be more proud of these students, their grasp of serious issues and their hard work.  I hope they stay involved and we should all do our part to make sure they have the opportunity to be included.  I want to thank Kate Leo and her fellow teachers at Johnston Middle School for driving this project.